Suisun approves easement for PG&E pipeline safety project

SUISUN CITY — Pacific Gas and Electric Co. got the nod Tuesday from the Suisun City Council to put in an above-ground automated valve facility by the city’s bikeway across Highway 12 northwest of the Marina Shopping Center.

The council approved selling the easements on land owned by the Suisun City Housing Authority and needed to build the facility. PG&E is building it as part of the gas pipeline safety enhancements mandated by the state Public Utilities Commission after the September 2010 San Bruno explosion, which killed eight people and leveled a neighborhood.

PG&E officials also took the opportunity to talk to the council about the other measures they have been taking. Those include strength testing along the utility’s pipeline network, which has pipes that go through the length of Suisun City next to Highway 12.

The proposed facility will allow PG&E to minimize the consequences of a potential natural gas leak from a ruptured pipeline, PG&E Senior Government Relations Representative Andrew Bianchi told the council.

Council concerns centered around the effect on that section of the bike path, which will be detoured around the project this fall. PG&E promised to build a high-quality path to replace the current section they will take out, as well as put in landscaping that the city will have to maintain.

PG&E will pay the city $24,600 for the land. The power company will also compensate Suisun City $19,534 for improvements that may be constructed at the sole discretion of the city.

Reach Ian Thompson at 427-6976 or [email protected] Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/ithompsondr.

Ian Thompson

Ian Thompson has worked for the Daily Republic longer than he cares to remember. A native of Oregon and a graduate of the University of Oregon, he pines for the motherland still. He covers Vacaville and Travis Air Force Base for the Daily Republic. He is an avid military history buff, wargamer and loves the great outdoors.